elaws - employment laws assistance for workers and small businesses

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Veterans' Employment and Career Transition Advisor

Applying for a job with the Federal government may be more complex than applying for
a private sector position. However, as a veteran, you may be eligible for preference over non-veterans
and/or direct appointment into a Federal position.

Veterans' Preference – By law, qualified veterans with a
service-connected disability or who served on active duty in the United States
Armed Forces during certain specified time periods or in military campaigns may
be entitled to preference over non-veterans in competitive appointments for
Federal civil service positions and in retention during reductions in force. For
more information, please visit the elaws Veterans'
Preference Advisor.

Veterans' Recruitment Appointment (VRA) – The Veterans Recruitment
Appointment (VRA) program allows certain eligible veterans to be appointed
noncompetitively to Federal civil service jobs that lead to a career or career-conditional
appointment in the competitive service, upon satisfactory completion of two
years of service.

30 Percent or More Disabled Veterans – Veterans considered to be 30
percent or more disabled as a result of a service-connected injury may be given
a non-competitive temporary or term appointment to a position for which they are qualified.
After demonstrating satisfactory performance, the veteran may be converted at
any time to a career or career-conditional appointment.

Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA) – The VEOA gives eligible
veterans the right to compete for vacant positions offered under agency merit
promotion procedures that are open to candidates from outside the agency.

Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) – Disabled veterans eligible for
training under the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) vocational rehabilitation
program may enroll for training or work experience at a Federal agency under the
terms of an agreement between the agency and VA. In this case, the veteran is
generally not a Federal employee, but rather a VA beneficiary. Training is
tailored to individual needs and is not subject to a set length of time.

Federal Application Procedure – Because the application process for
Federal employment can be complicated and sometimes overwhelming, it is recommended that
you contact the Director for Veterans’ Employment and Training in your state for
one-on-one assistance. For contact information and additional employment
options, please visit our state map and select your state.
You may access Federal job openings, full job announcements, answers to
frequently asked questions, and application forms, at
USAJOBS. However, be sure
to read any job announcement carefully as you may lose consideration for a
position if your application does not provide all of the information required in
the job announcement.